Mostly energy are derived from sun either directly or indirectly.

A thermal power station is a power plant in which heat energy is converted to

electric power. In most of the places in the world the turbine is steam-driven. Water
is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam turbine which drives an electrical
generator. After it passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a
condenser and recycled to where it was heated; this is known as a Rankine cycle.
Certain thermal power plants also are designed to produce heat energy for
industrial purposes of district heating, or desalination of water, in addition to
generating electrical power. Globally, fossil-fuel power stations produce a large part
of man-made CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, and efforts to reduce these are
varied and widespread.

Coal is a fossil fuel created from the remains of plants that lived and died about 100 to 400 million years
ago when parts of the earth were covered with huge swampy forests. Coal is classified as a nonrenewable
energy source because it takes millions of years to form.
The energy we get from coal today comes from the energy that plants absorbed from the sun millions of
years ago. All living plants store energy from the sun through a process known as photosynthesis. After
the plants die, this energy is released as the plants decay. Under conditions favorable to coal formation,
however, the decay process is interrupted, preventing the further release of the stored solar energy.
Millions of years ago, dead plant matter fell into the swampy water and over the years, a thick layer of
dead plants lay decaying at the bottom of the swamps. Over time, the surface and climate of the earth
changed, and more water and dirt washed in, halting the decay process. The weight of the top layers of
water and dirt packed down the lower layers of plant matter. Under heat and pressure, this plant matter
underwent chemical and physical changes, pushing out oxygen and leaving rich hydrocarbon deposits.
What once had been plants gradually turned into coal.
Seams of coal--ranging in thickness from a fraction of an inch to hundreds of feet-may represent hundreds
or even thousands of years of plant growth. One important coal seam, the seven-foot thick Pittsburgh
seam, may represent 2,000 years of rapid plant growth. One acre of this seam contains about 14,000 tons
of coal, enough to supply the electric power needs of 4,500 American homes for one year.

Coal Mining
There are two ways to remove coal from the ground: surface mining and underground mining.
Surface mining is used when a coal seam is relatively close to the surface, usually within 200 feet. The
first step in surface mining is to remove and store the soil and rock covering the coal (called the
"overburden"). Workers use a variety of heavy equipment--draglines, power shovels, bulldozers, and
front-end loaders-to expose the coal seam for mining.
After surface mining, workers replace the overburden, grade it, cover it with topsoil, and fertilize and
seed the area. These steps help restore the biological balance of the area and prevent erosion. The land can
then be used for croplands, wildlife habitats, recreation, or as sites for commercial development.
Although only about 32 percent of the nation's coal can be extracted by surface mining, some 63 percent
of all U.S. coal is mined using this method today. Why? Because surface mining is typically much
cheaper than underground mining.
Underground mining is used when the coal seam is buried several hundred feet below the surface. In
underground mining, workers and machinery go down a vertical "shaft" or a slanted tunnel called a
"slope" to remove the coal. Mine shafts may sink as much as 1,000 feet deep.
One underground mining method is called room-and-pillar mining. With this method, much of the coal
must be left behind to support the mine's roofs and walls. Sometimes as much as half the coal is left
behind in large column formations to keep the mine from collapsing.
A more efficient and safer underground mining method, called longwall mining, uses a specially shielded
machine which allows a mined-out area to collapse in a controlled manner. This method is called
"longwall" mining because huge blocks of coal up to several hundred feet wide can be removed.
Processing and Transporting Coal
After coal comes out of the ground, it typically goes on a conveyor belt to a preparation plant that is
located at the mining site. A "prep" plant cleans and processes coal to remove dirt, rock, ash, sulfur, and
other impurities. Removing the impurities increases the heating value of coal.
After the coal is mined and processed, it is ready to go to market. Transportation is a very important
consideration in coal's competitiveness with other fuels because sometimes transporting the coal can cost
more than mining it.
Underground pipelines can easily move petroleum and natural gas to market. But that's not so for coal.
Huge trains transport most coal (almost 60 percent) for at least part of its journey to market. It is cheaper
to transport coal on river barges, but this option isn't always available. Coal can also be moved by trucks
and conveyors if the coal mine Is close by. Ideally, coal-fired electric power plants are built near coal
mines to minimize transportation costs.
4. Coal Reserves, Production and Use
Coal Production
Coal production is the amount of coal mined and taken to market. Where does mining take place in the
United States? Although coal is mined in 27 states, more coal is mined in eastern states, especially coal
that is taken from underground mines, than in western states. However, the West's share of total coal
production has increased steadily since 1968 when it provided just five percent of U.S. production. Today
the West provides 45 percent of the nation's total production.
Total U.S. production of coal reached one billion tons in 1990, an historic high. The leading coal
producing states are Wyoming, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Some coal produced in the United States is exported to other countries. Last year, foreign countries
imported seven percent of all the coal produced in the U.S. The five biggest foreign markets for U.S. coal
are Japan, Canada, Italy, Brazil, and Belgium.
How Coal Is Used
What do we use coal for? Electricity is the main use. Last year 88 percent of all the coal used in the
United States was for electricity production. (Other energy sources used to generate electricity include
nuclear power, hydropower, and natural gas.)
Another major use of coal is in iron and steelmaking. The iron industry uses coke ovens to melt iron ore.
Coke, an almost pure carbon residue of coal, is used as a fuel in smelting metals. The United States has
the finest coking coals in the world. These coals are shipped around the world for use in coke ovens.
Coal is also used by other industries. The paper, brick, limestone, and cement industries all use coal to
make their products.
Contrary to what many people think, coal is no longer a major energy source for heating American homes
or other buildings. Less than one percent of the coal produced in the U.S. today is used for heating. Coal
furnaces, which were popular years ago, have largely been replaced by oil or gas furnaces or by electric
heat pumps.

Conclution : thus the sun can be said to be the source of nearly all energy, and in
the absence of the sun hit and light, no life could exist on earth